Hollywood Studios’ Fight With RealDVD Is Counter Productive

Last week, I listened to a speech at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, presented by Yaron Brook, President and Executive Director of the Ayn Rand Institute.  I was enthralled by Brook’s eloquent and forceful defense of the free market.  In this time of rampant government meddling in the economy, it was refreshing to be reminded of how the free market rewards those who work with its forces rather than against them.  If only the Hollywood studios had been in that audience and heard the message. 

For months now, the major studios have been waging all-out war against technology companies that are developing devices that offer consumers the ability to watch their DVDs on their own computers and televisions under circumstances that give them maximum flexibility.  Heaven only knows how much the studios have paid in fees in order to have their legal surrogates wage a war of words and briefs against relatively small companies like RealNetworks and Kaleidescape that are trying to fill this market niche.  RealNetworks has been hit particularly hard by the aggressive court action lodged against it by the studios.  (more…)

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Tags: copying, digital copy, DVD, hollywood, lawsuits
Posted Nov 12th 2009 at 2:34 pm in Entertainment, Law | 26208633 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bbarr/2009/11/12/hollywood-studios-fight-with-realdvd-is-counter-productive/Hollywood+Studios%E2%80%99+Fight+With+RealDVD+Is+Counter+Productive2009-11-12+22%3A34%3A35Bob+Barr

Pop Culture Exploits Matthew Shepard Tragedy to Create ‘Thought Crimes’

Quick: when I say “Matthew Shepard,” what do you think? A man killed because he was gay? Or just some poor sap in the wrong place at the wrong time? More on that in a minute.

Hate crime legislation aimed at making it a federal crime to assault someone for being a homosexual passed the House last week, and could be on its way to becoming law. It sounds great, doesn’t it? Who wouldn’t be against a law that would prosecute someone for targeting another person based on bigotry and bias? What could be wrong with this scenario?

Plenty. I’m all for prosecuting criminals for their acts, especially violent criminals. I’m pro-death penalty, if truth be told. I figure that if you deliberately take someone else’s life, you should pay by forfeiting yours. Not very PC of me, but there you have it.

However, it bothers me that individuals may soon be prosecuted for not just the crime, but the “behind the scenes” thoughts that may have contributed to that crime. Ken Klukowski, writing for Fox, explains why: (more…)

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Tags: 1984, 20/20, Camille Paglia, Elizabeth Varga, Hate Crimes
Posted Oct 22nd 2009 at 5:07 am in Culture, Featured Story, Law, Politics | 246654155 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/pmeister/2009/10/22/pop-culture-exploits-matthew-shepard-tragedy-to-create-thought-crimes/Pop+Culture+Exploits+Matthew+Shepard+Tragedy+to+Create+%27Thought+Crimes%272009-10-22+12%3A07%3A36Pam+Meister

Polanski May Finally Face U.S. Justice

Nothing mitigates director Roman Polanski’s unspeakable crime. Certainly Polanski has dealt with personal tragedy on a scale few of us can understand, but that’s not a license to drug, rape and sodomize a 13 year-old girl. Nor is perceived misconduct on the part of trial judge, nor is the forgiveness of the victim (who reached an out-of-court settlement with Polanski).

And this may come as a surprise to some in Hollywood, but helming a few cinematic masterpieces doesn’t turn someone who anally raped a child into some kind of tragic hero… In all the revisionist history, the simple fact that Polanski plead guilty to “unlawful sex with an underage girl” is seldom mentioned at the top of the special brand of rationalizations extended to our celebrity class. 

Well, finally, after 32 years, justice may be done. At the request of the U.S., the Swiss nabbed the 76 year-old fugitive and may extradite: (more…)

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Tags: child rape, extradition, Polanski, Swiss
Posted Sep 27th 2009 at 12:51 pm in Celebrity News, Featured Story, Law | 236582114 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2009/09/27/polanski-may-finally-face-u-s-justice/Polanski+May+Finally+Face+U.S.+Justice+2009-09-27+19%3A51%3A07John+Nolte

America in Danger: Important Courtroom Battles

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Tags: David Rivkin, Maqaleh v. Gates, Michael Yon
Posted Sep 24th 2009 at 4:18 pm in Law, Michael Yon Dispatches, Military | 23524617 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/myon/2009/09/24/america-in-danger-important-courtroom-battles/America+in+Danger%3A+Important+Courtroom+Battles2009-09-24+23%3A18%3A27Michael+Yon

At Least 6 Federal Laws and Regulations Violated By the NEA Conference Call

Yesterday, I posted about the NEA conference call’s clear and obvious violations of the Anti-Lobbying Act (19 U.S. Code §1913), which explicitly provides: “No part of the money appropriated by any enactment of Congress shall, in the absence of express authorization by Congress, be used directly or indirectly to pay for any personal service, advertisement, telegram, telephone, letter, printed or written matter, or other device, intended or designed to influence in any manner a Member of Congress, a jurisdiction, or an official of any government, to favor, adopt, or oppose by vote or otherwise, any legislation, law, ratification, policy, or appropriation, whether before or after the introduction of any bill, measure or resolution proposing such legislation, law, ratification, policy or appropriation …”  The Anti-Lobbying Act, according to government handbooks, prevents government employees from engaging in “substantial ‘grass roots’ lobbying campaigns … expressly urging individuals to contact government officials in support of or opposition to legislation …. Provid[ing] administrative support for lobbing activities of private organizations …”  

Violation of this law, in turn, violates 31 U.S. Code §1352, which, if read broadly, bans the use of federal funds for lobbying by the recipients: “funds appropriated by any Act [may not be] expended by the recipient of a Federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement to pay any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with any Federal action …”   (more…)

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Tags: 501(c)(4), Americans for the Arts, Congress, Hatch Act, nea
Posted Sep 22nd 2009 at 12:24 pm in Art, Law, Politics | 23205491 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bshapiro/2009/09/22/at-least-6-federal-laws-and-regulations-violated-by-the-nea-conference-call/At+Least+6+Federal+Laws+and+Regulations+Violated+By+the+NEA+Conference+Call2009-09-22+19%3A24%3A01Ben+Shapiro

Serve.gov Somebody: NEA’s ‘Onramp for Agents of Change’

“It may be the Devil, or it may be the Lord. But, you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” – Bob Dylan

“Rule #7: A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.” – Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals

For a presidential candidate to dispatch his agents of Change® to recruit artists & entertainers into his campaign is one thing. He understandably wished to avoid becoming old news. Heck, even radical activists get bored. So, to maintain their excitement and involvement, professional community organizers must constantly devise new tactics. And, as so many enjoy smugly reminding us all, “the ‘One’ won!”

Poli-end-zone-dances notwithstanding, for the President of the United States of America to use the power of his Office and the lure of his NEA’s favor, potential grant funds and the ideological “yes, we-can-change-the-world” Hope® & prestige for artists to create promotional propaganda for his Serve.gov & Corporation for National & Community Service partisan political agenda, produces an entirely different pattern and data set. (more…)

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Tags: Buffy Wicks, Corporation for National & Community Service, healthcare, healthcare reform, National Endowment for the Arts (NEW)
Posted Sep 21st 2009 at 5:58 pm in Culture, Law, News, Politics | 23191432 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/abaldwin/2009/09/21/serve-gov-somebody-neas-onramp-for-agents-of-change/Serve.gov+Somebody%3A+NEA%E2%80%99s+%27Onramp+for+Agents+of+Change%272009-09-22+00%3A58%3A36Adam+Baldwin

The NEA, The White House, The Lies and The Cover-Up

Big Hollywood today reveals the extensive proof that shows the White House used the National Endowment for the Arts to push a political agenda favorable to President Obama. But it gets worse: the Administration lied about it, and tried to cover it up.

You already know the background: an NEA spokesman participated in a conference call designed to encourage artists to further Obama’s legislative agenda. This was revealed back in August at Big Hollywood. What is new today is the full transcript of the call — and how clearly the NEA was involved in urging artists to propagandize for Obama.

Naturally, the NEA and the Obama administration denied this. According to the Los Angeles Times (in a blog post, of course, and not an actual newsprint story), the NEA denied any purpose to further a legislative agenda:

The NEA issued a statement saying that it took part in the conference to help inform arts organizations about opportunities to sponsor volunteer service projects themselves, or have their members take part in other volunteer efforts. “This call was not a means to promote any legislative agenda, and any suggestions to that end are simply false,” the statement said. (more…)

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Tags: ACORN, Buffy Wicks, Def-Jam, health care, Michael Skolnik
Posted Sep 21st 2009 at 1:00 pm in Art, Law, News, Politics | 23093873 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/patterico/2009/09/21/the-nea-the-white-house-the-lies-and-the-cover-up/The+NEA%2C+The+White+House%2C+The+Lies+and+The+Cover-Up2009-09-21+20%3A00%3A32Patterico

Demand Congressional Investigation: NEA Conference Call Broke Laws

In the aftermath of the Andrew Breitbart/James O’Keefe/Hannah Giles-broken ACORN scandal, President Obama and his allies in Congress have distanced themselves from the community organizing goliath.  Congress has cut off funds, and Obama has refused to speak about the matter.  End of story, right?

Wrong.

There’s only one problem: the ACORN mentality – pinpointing and mobilizing particular groups in support of a radical-left agenda – is no longer restricted to government-funded private non-profits like ACORN.  The ACORN mentality now dominates the government itself.  Taxpayer dollars are being used by elected officials to encourage the deification of President Obama and his agenda.  And one of the chief organs of the government propaganda machine is the National Endowment for the Arts.

Let’s start from the beginning.  On August 25, artist Patrick Courrielche told the story of a conference call he attended on August 10.  That conference call was hosted by the NEA, the White House Office of Public Engagement, and United We Serve.  The goal of the conference call: “to help lay a new foundation for growth, focusing on core areas of the recovery agenda – health care, energy and environment, safety and security, education, community renewal.”  The call would push “a group of artists, producers, promoters, organizers, influencers, marketers, taste-makers, leaders or just plain cool people to join together and work together to promote a more civically engaged America and celebrate how the arts can be used for a positive change!” (more…)

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Tags: "Scrubs", ACORN, Americans for the Arts, Americans for the Arts Artists Committee, Anti-Lobbying Act
Posted Sep 21st 2009 at 11:11 am in Art, Law, News, Politics | 231114116 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bshapiro/2009/09/21/demand-congressional-investigation-nea-conference-call-broke-laws/Demand+Congressional+Investigation%3A+NEA+Conference+Call+Broke+Laws2009-09-21+18%3A11%3A00Ben+Shapiro

Movies We Like: ‘Anatomy of a Murder’ (1959)

There was a time when an “adult film” meant a movie by, for and about adults, not a tawdry tale of some tatted-up, dead-eyed 19-year old with daddy issues numbly coupling in front of a video camera for the gratification of leering, backward-hatted frat boys and twitchy loners with DSL.  They don’t make many truly adult films anymore – to see what you are missing, a good place to start is 50 years ago with 1959’s Anatomy of a Murder. 

Let’s start with the cast:  James Stewart.  George C. Scott.  Lee Remick.  Eve Arden.  Ben Gazzara.  Even Big Hollywood’s own Orson Bean in a supporting part as a doctor who plays a key role in the story.  If you love movies, you only needed to get to the word “George” before you were adding it to your NetFlix queue. (more…)

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Tags: Anatomy of a Murder, Arthur O’Connor, Ben Gazzara, Duke Ellington, Eve Arden
Posted Sep 16th 2009 at 11:51 am in Classic Hollywood, Law, Reviews | 22518661 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/kschlichter/2009/09/16/movies-we-like-anatomy-of-a-murder-1959/Movies+We+Like%3A+%27Anatomy+of+a+Murder%27+%281959%292009-09-16+18%3A51%3A19Kurt+Schlichter

Pay Attention Hollywood: The Fate of ‘Hillary the Movie’ is No Partisan Issue

Tomorrow, the Supreme Court will take the highly unusual step of convening a special session to rehear arguments in the case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.  This case has enormous implications for all Americans, but those of us who are filmmakers who depend on the First Amendment should pay particularly close attention. 

On the last day of the June session, the Supreme Court unexpectedly decided to order a rehearing of our case in order to reexamine two cases that are the pillars of some of the more restrictive provisions of campaign finance law, and that, I believe, are unconstitutional infringements on the First Amendment.  (more…)

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Tags: "Hillary the Movie" McCain-Feingold, Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce, Celsius 41.11, Censorship, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
Posted Sep 8th 2009 at 10:41 am in Art, Entertainment, Law, Politics | 21954222 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/dbossie/2009/09/08/pay-attention-hollywood-the-fate-hillary-the-movie-is-no-partisan-issue/Pay+Attention+Hollywood%3A+The+Fate+of+%27Hillary+the+Movie%27+is+No+Partisan+Issue2009-09-08+17%3A41%3A38David+Bossie

What’s Right is Rights: Piracy is Theft

Word is getting around that the RIAA seems to be stepping away from lawsuits as a key strategy against piracy.  Lawsuits were never going to be the solution, as other major rights-holders, like those working together through Arts+Labs, will attest.

That’s not to say that we’ve all stopped believing in creators’ rights or that we no longer think piracy is a real problem.  On the contrary: the creative economy depends on creative rights.

We all understand the demand for easy access to inexpensive content, and the people who produce that content – artists, movie makers, journalists, musicians, songwriters and more – are eager to deliver it. But, as it turns out, they want their rights to be respected.

Unfortunately, some consumers get confused about the difference between demand and entitlement. A recent TechDirt screed illustrates this entitlement mentality.  Writing about Joel Tenenbaum, who was sued for pirating and distributing songs online (a jury found that he had willfully infringed copyrights and awarded a judgment far larger than had been asked), Mike Masnick wrote: (more…)

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Tags: artist rights, Music, Napster, piracy, RIAA
Posted Sep 8th 2009 at 5:03 am in Entertainment, Law, Music | 215926120 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/mmckinnon/2009/09/08/what%e2%80%99s-right-is-rights/What%E2%80%99s+Right+is+Rights%3A+Piracy+is+Theft2009-09-08+12%3A03%3A34Mark+McKinnon

Interview: Jerrol LeBaron of InkTip, Office, Part Two

In Part One of this interview, Mr. LeBaron provided background on his own classic American and Hollywood success stories, and why he started the Honor In Office campaign. Today, Mr. LeBaron tells us what Honor In Office is all about, and why real reform is so badly needed in Sacramento.

Q: Can you describe for me, specifically, what Honor In Office is all about?

JERROL: If you look at the header at the Honor In Office homepage you will see the phrase, “There was a time in this country when our leaders’ signatures meant more.” Be it the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, or bills passed by Congress to conduct the People’s business, our Founding Fathers and early members of Congress drafted, read in full, debated at length, and either passed or rejected whatever legislation was before the Congress. (more…)

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Tags: California, government reform, Honor In Office, Honor In Office Act, InkTip
Posted Aug 22nd 2009 at 2:49 pm in Classic Hollywood, Law, Politics | 2065463 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jtsimpson/2009/08/22/interview-jerrol-lebaron-of-inktip-and-honor-in-office-part-two/Interview%3A+Jerrol+LeBaron+of+InkTip%2C+Office%2C+Part+Two2009-08-22+21%3A49%3A30John+T.+Simpson

American Basiji

Since Iran’s Green Revolution began on June 12th we have all learned the meaning of the term Basiji, whom Matthias Kuntzel of The New Republic called “Ahmadinejad’s Demons.” Since Supreme Leader In Name Only Ali Khamenei’s son now runs the Basiji, I consider it more of an Ahmie and Khamie thing, like the election itself. We’ve seen what they’ve done: murderous beatings, motorcycle drive-by clubbings, even the shooting of innocents like Neda Soltan and Kaveh Alipour.

That violence is always blamed on those protesters by Ahamadinejad and other hardliners, as well as FARS and other state-run mouthpieces, all of whom are doing their damndest to demonize the Green protesters as enemies of the state, foreign agents, even domestic terrorists. Glad we don’t have that kind of stuff in America, huh? Ya, as if! What country are YOU living in?

What, in essence, are the Basiji? Are they not an ideologically and violently overzealous arm of the fascist Iranian thugocracy? Well, if terrorizing innocent citizens over ideology with full political backing is the key issue here, then what do you call the three menacing baton-swinging racist epithet-spewing New Black Panther Party poll watchers in Philadelphia, paid in full by Democrats, who uttered such overzealous statements as “you will soon be ruled by the black man, cracker”? (more…)

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Tags: Ahmadinejad, Ali Khamenei, America, basij, Basiji
Posted Aug 13th 2009 at 10:53 am in Law, Uncategorized | 20298646 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jtsimpson/2009/08/13/american-basiji/American+Basiji2009-08-13+17%3A53%3A17John+T.+Simpson

EXCLUSIVE: DeVore and Free Speech Win Round One Vs. Don Henley

On April 1, California State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore’s campaign for U.S. Senate against Barbara Boxer released the YouTube, “After the Hope of November is Gone,” a parody video based on Don Henley’s “The Boys of Summer.” The video criticized President Obama and mocked celebs like Henley who have been made “crazy” with desire over the President. 

It took just six days for Henley to file a copyright claim under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and YouTube immediately took the video down.  

–

Refusing to be intimidated, DeVore fired back with a DMCA counter-notification and on April 14th created another YouTube parody aimed at Boxer’s support for cap-and-trade. ”All She Wants to do is Tax” is based Henley’s “All She Wants to do is Dance” and immediately began racking up 10,000 views a day.

Though he doesn’t hold the rights to ”Dance,” Henley filed a federal suit against DeVore and encouraged the true copyright holder to file a copyright infringement complaint with YouTube.  Within a few days YouTube took DeVore’s second video down. Then DeVore caught Henley off guard and fought back with a counter-suit claiming Henley was infringing on his First Amendment right to political parody.   (more…)

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Tags: "All she wants to do is tax", boxer, copyright, DeVore, Henley
Posted Aug 7th 2009 at 6:44 am in Entertainment, Law | 20092280 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bighollywood/2009/08/07/exclusive-devore-and-free-speech-win-round-one-vs-don-henley/EXCLUSIVE%3A+DeVore+and+Free+Speech+Win+Round+One+Vs.+Don+Henley2009-08-07+13%3A44%3A20Big+Hollywood

The King of Pop, Sir Paul, and the Right to Reclaim Copyrights

This may be a shocking revelation to all but the most avid news-followers, but it is apparently true: pop star Michael Jackson recently passed away.  A handful of media outlets found time to cover the story, and some of them have mentioned Jackson’s feud with Paul McCartney over Jackson’s ownership of the publishing rights to some of the Beatles’ biggest hits-rights acquired when Jackson outbid Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono in the mid-1980’s. 

People not familiar with copyright law might be surprised to hear that McCartney-one-half of music’s most-successful songwriting duo-must pay royalties to perform his own hit songs.  The fact certainly seemed to grate on McCartney, who frequently made mention of it in interviews.  But even more surprising, at least to those not acquainted with the intricacies of copyright law, is that Sir Paul will one day be able to re-acquire the rights to his music without even having to pay to buy them back.

(more…)

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Tags: Beatles, Congress, Copyright Act, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney
Posted Jul 14th 2009 at 10:21 am in Entertainment, Law | 18104270 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/carledge/2009/07/14/the-king-of-pop-sir-paul-and-the-right-to-reclaim-copyrights/The+King+of+Pop%2C+Sir+Paul%2C+and+the+Right+to+Reclaim+Copyrights2009-07-14+17%3A21%3A24Chris+Arledge

Is Copyright Law Stifling Creativity?

Last week, a federal judge in New York issued an injunction precluding the publication of a novel based on J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye.”  The new novel, by Swedish author Fredrik Colting, describes the adventures of the elderly “Mr. C,” a not-so-veiled pseudonym for Salinger’s famous “Holden Caulfield.”  The federal court enjoined publication of the book in the United States after finding that it is a likely copyright infringement.  The Salinger lawsuit illuminates a weakness in copyright law that threatens to undermine copyright’s central purpose-promoting creativity.  

J.D. Salinger

American law differs from law in Europe (and elsewhere) by not granting-except in limited cases-any “moral rights” to the creator of an artistic work.  Moral rights are designed to protect the integrity of a work; for example, moral rights could stop a television station from editing a movie in ways the director believes undermine his artistic vision.  Copyright law, however, has no such interest.  The Copyright Act rests on Congress’ authority under the United States Constitution “to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.”  Thus, the purpose of copyright law is to encourage creativity by giving artists, authors, and others the exclusive right to benefit from their creative efforts for a limited period of time.  (more…)

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Tags: Copyright law, Fredrik Colting, Holden Caulfield, J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
Posted Jul 6th 2009 at 2:35 pm in Entertainment, Law | 17630283 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/carledge/2009/07/06/is-copyright-law-stifling-creativity/Is+Copyright+Law+Stifling+Creativity%3F2009-07-06+21%3A35%3A33Chris+Arledge

A Legal Blockbuster Headed Your Way

Just in time for Hollywood’s Blockbuster Summer season, the west coast is scheduled for a limited engagement legal premiere of sorts. This week on June 25th, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will host the latest episode in the saga of the long-running litigation between the estates of Anna Nicole Smith and oil baron J. Howard Marshall.

This remarkable drama demonstrates the lasting power of a lawsuit that has outlasted the life and death of Anna Nicole Smith and her former husband, billionaire oil man J. Howard Marshall II. As the litigation against the estate of her former husband goes on without them both, the absurdity of the case grows clearer. (more…)

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Tags: 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, American judicial system, Anna Nicole Smith, Frivolous lawsuits, inheritance
Posted Jun 24th 2009 at 4:34 pm in Celebrity News, Law | 167650One Commenthttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/hcooper/2009/06/24/a-legal-blockbuster-headed-your-way/A+Legal+Blockbuster+Headed+Your+Way2009-06-24+23%3A34%3A26Horace+Cooper